


The Folly of Fortunes

by SaraJaye



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Anxiety, F/F, First Kiss, Flower Petal Fortunes, Insecurity, Love Confessions, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 13:23:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14770422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: She was used to pulling a bad fortune, but what about the ones shecouldn'tso easily force to change? Or, Sumia tries to find out if Cordelia loves her without asking Cordelia if she loves her.





	The Folly of Fortunes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dominionsend](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dominionsend/gifts).



When you pulled a bad fortune from a flower, you worked to change it. But she'd never asked the flower whether or not someone loved her the way she loved them, and you couldn't force a person to love you if the flower said they didn't. It was the first time Sumia had ever found fault in her usually foolproof trick.

In the past, she would have been terrified at the very prospect, especially regarding something as serious as her feelings for Cordelia. And if she were going to be perfectly honest, right now huddling under the covers in a ball and whimpering pathetically sounded like a good idea. But that would make a mockery of what the fortunes were based on, and crying wouldn't solve the problem of what to do about the situation.

"This time I need to go above and beyond the power of the petals," she told herself. The easiest solution would be to go right up to Cordelia and ask her how she felt, but Cordelia didn't like being caught off-guard, and Sumia still feared rejection more than anything else. No, she would have to carefully study Cordelia's words, body language, and actions. If she behaved as she always did, the flower was right. If not, it was wrong.

 

It seemed easy enough to watch Cordelia more closely, since they were often partnered in battles and spent most of their spare time together anyway. The way Sumia figured, Cordelia wouldn't suspect a thing since they were _supposed_ to keep their eyes on each other, and Sumia often watched Cordelia closely hoping to learn from her. Not that she'd ever come _close_ to doing things perfectly, but if even a little of Cordelia's grace and skill rubbed off on her, it was enough.

For the first few days, it _was_ pretty much the perfect cover, especially with harder and harder battles being fought. She asked for extra training sessions and daily spars, claiming she needed Cordelia to "check her progress." Unfortunately, none of this revealed anything new; Cordelia behaved as she always had, giving Sumia pointers and critique readily and saving the praise for last. The only thing that could be counted as "different" was the serious look on her face when she gave her praise, usually Cordelia would smile when she told her to keep up the good work. _Maybe she just doesn't want me to get too complacent...not that I ever would. I know as well as anyone that I can't afford to stop trying._

On the fourth day, Cordelia fell ill with a headache and asked to be allowed to sit out the battle. She cancelled their training sessions, asked Frederick to handle the inventory, Sully to help Sumia with the horses and pegasi, and Robin to partner with Sumia during the battle.

"I hope Cordelia's not sicker than she's letting on," Robin said as they made their way to a fortress. "Usually it takes more than a headache to keep her from her tasks, and even then she'll try to work until someone has to _force_ her to rest." Sumia frowned.

"She seemed fine last night...I don't _think_ she's seriously ill. At least, I hope not..." According to Chrom, Cordelia hadn't wanted anyone checking up on her, but suddenly Sumia wished she'd stayed behind. Even at her worst, Cordelia always let _her_ stay by her side.

_Unless...no, that's silly, Sumia. Cordelia wouldn't..._ She wished the desert had even one flower she could consult. _She's sick, she's feigning, she's sick, she's..._

Unless Cordelia was sick of _her._ The horrible thought struck so fast Sumia couldn't shake it. She was almost grateful for the sound of enemies approaching, but with every thrust of her lance came another dark thought. _She knew what you were doing, she doesn't love you, the flower was right, there's no point in even asking her._ When the last enemy fell and the group began their march back to camp, Sumia almost wished they'd be ambushed so she could put off returning and having to face reality.

_Maybe Cordelia was right about my fortunes all along. Even with my reasoning, there are some things you can't control, and you can't control how someone feels about you. I should have never done that fortune, I should have just asked her. Even if she rejected me, at least I'd know._

 

Cordelia was up and about when they returned to camp, and despite her fears, Sumia was relieved. Headaches _were_ signs of undue stress, after all, and clingy, needy friends could definitely be a source of stress.

"How are you feeling?" Robin asked. Cordelia smiled thinly.

"Better, thank you. But just the same, I'd best take my evening meal alone in case I feel poorly again. It wouldn't do for me to collapse at the table," she said. _Or for her to be stuck sitting next to me,_ Sumia thought miserably as she followed the others to the mess hall. She knew she was letting herself fall back into that bad, old habit of self-pity, but the fear and anxiety were just too strong. Her foolproof flower petal fortune had been right, and there was nothing she could do about it.

_You should have just told her,_ a voice in her head nagged. _Admit it, you don't even know if she'd hate being caught off guard, you were just making excuses. You're still the same sad little Sumia you've always been, no matter how hard you try. You can't change, you're never going to change, and Cordelia's finally sick of you._

Each thought was a slap to the face, driving her self-hatred up further and further until tears stung her eyes. But just as the final slap nearly had her collapsing to the floor in tears, something inside her snapped.

_No!_ Maybe she was scared, maybe she _had_ been too clingy, but she was tired of letting her darker thoughts get the better of her. _Maybe I can't confess to her right away, but I can at least find out why she's avoiding me and apologize._

"Cordelia, I'm going to take my meal alongside you," she said. Stahl dished up two plates and handed one each to Cordelia and Sumia, and Sumia followed her friend back to their tent before Cordelia could protest.

 

"Whatever I did, Cordelia, I'm so sorry," were the first words out of her mouth. She'd barely taken a few bites of her meal, while Cordelia was so interested in her own food that she didn't even look up at first.

"Hm?" She paused, her fork halfway to her mouth. "Did you say something?"

"I said I was sorry," Sumia repeated. "That's why you have a headache, right? Because I've been...well, sticking to you like glue and getting in your way." Cordelia's fork dropped onto her plate with a _clink_ and she gave Sumia a funny look. _Oh, boy...is this good, or bad?_

"What are you talking about? I have a headache because I didn't sleep well last night," Cordelia said.

"Oh!" Sumia frowned. "Oh...did you have another nightmare about them? You could have come to me."

"No, it's not that." Cordelia shook her head, pushing her plate away. "It's... _related_ to you, but it's nothing you did _wrong,_ " she said. She paused for another bite of potato before she spoke again. "I...I tried one of your flower petal fortunes last night, by myself." She reached into her breastplate and dug out a single daisy petal. "It said you loved me." Sumia squeaked, nearly toppling backward in her chair.

"H- _how-_ "

"I noticed what you were doing, Sumia. You didn't think your own best friend wouldn't be able to read you like a book, did you?" Sumia felt her cheeks burn.

"I was afraid of that."

"I know, I should have just asked you, but...well, how do you go about asking a person such a delicate question? And there was still a chance I could be wrong," Cordelia said. "So I tried a flower fortune, and..."

"And you got a good fortune, right? So why would that keep you up?" Sumia asked.

"I mostly did it for a gag, because what does a flower know? It could have been wrong, and-"

"And you can't control someone else's heart." Sumia shook her head. "Oh, boy...no wonder you couldn't sleep. _My_ flower told me you loved me _not!_ I didn't mention anything to you because, well...I didn't know how you'd feel about being caught off guard, and..." She sighed. "I was scared," she said. "Boy, we sure went through four days of being stupid for nothing." Cordelia pushed her half-empty plate away.

"Sumia, was my fortune right? Do you love me?"

"Yes!" Cordelia had barely finished asking the question before the answer left her mouth. "Cordelia, I've been in love with you for so long! But my fortune-"

"Was wrong." Cordelia took Sumia's hands in her own, and Sumia felt her heart race. "And you worked to change it...in a way. It took you a while, but you _did_ come after me and start talking before the rest of the army could start butting in," she said, and smiled. "Because I love you, too, and I would have been mortified if someone else had to tell you before I had a chance to say so myself."

"Cordelia..." Sumia smiled, happy tears springing to her eyes. "I think this is the best bad fortune I've ever gotten!" She threw her arms around her friend, burying her face in her shoulder. Cordelia hugged her back, sighing happily.

"Don't ever wait four days to ask me an important question again, okay?"

"Mm, I promise I won't," Sumia murmured. "But don't _you_ wait till after I've spent a whole day panicking to tell me if something's going on, either."

"I won't," Cordelia said. "But let's not dwell on how silly we both were."

"Right!" Sumia smiled. "Now, I just need one more flower so I can do one more fortune."

"Oh?" She heard the smile in Cordelia's tone. "What for?"

"To see if you'll kiss me tonight, of course." Cordelia shifted, bringing their faces less than an inch from one another.

"You don't need a flower to tell you that," she said, before their lips came together.

The unfinished plates of food sat forgotten, and the rest of the army steered clear of Cordelia and Sumia's tent for the rest of the night.


End file.
